


Rose Tinted World

by Wormsfan



Category: Rocky Horror Picture Show
Genre: Complete
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-17
Updated: 2011-08-06
Packaged: 2017-10-18 06:51:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 19,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/186163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wormsfan/pseuds/Wormsfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brad and Janet don't remember what happened on that fateful night in November. Can they still have a normal life?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Morning After

_She could feel someone grabbing her and holding her against him, but the thick fog made it impossible to see who it was. As she struggled to free herself from his grasp, he said “I’ve laid the seed, it should be all you need.” His voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. All she knew was that she was terrified._

Janet Weiss opened her eyes, relieved to discover that it had just been a dream. Her relief turned to confusion, however, when she looked around at her surroundings. This bedroom was not her own, yet she recognized some of the things in it. The photo of her on the nightstand, more photos on the wall of herself and her fiancé, Brad Majors. Of course, she thought, this was Brad’s room! She turned her head to see him sleeping beside her, then gasped in shock and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Trembling, Janet gently shook Brad awake.

“W-what? Janet?” Brad squinted at her and reached for his glasses, which were on the nightstand. “How did you get here?”

“I was just about to ask you that. Do you know what happened last night?” Janet chewed at her lower lip nervously.

“We must have had too much to drink at the reception. I don’t remember anything about what happened after that. Makes sense. After all, you and I had more than one reason to celebrate.” Brad grinned.

Grinning back, Janet realized that Brad was right. They had attended the wedding of their best friends, Ralph and Betty Hapschatt, and Brad had proposed to her right after she’d caught the bride’s bouquet. It had been a wonderful day, she thought as she admired her engagement ring. She snuggled up against him, but pulled back suddenly as a new thought occurred to her. “Do you think we...?” She blushed, hiking the blanket up even more.

“I don’t know, Janet. It’s possible.” Brad looked at her apologetically.

“I was saving myself for our wedding night.” Janet put her face in her hands. “I feel dirty. How can you respect me after this?”

Brad gently took her hands in his and squeezed them. “The most important thing is that our first time was with each other, even if we don’t remember it.”

“You’re right, darling. You’ve always been my one and only love, ever since we met in Dr. Scott’s class in high school.” She kissed him tenderly.

“Speaking of Dr. Scott, when would you like to visit him and announce our engagement?” Brad asked as he got up to open the curtains. He saw that it was raining heavily, probably since the night before.

“Maybe we should wait a while. He lives an hour away, and it’s really pouring out there.”

“Yeah, especially since I forgot to get the spare tire fixed.” Brad stared sheepishly at the floor.

“Oh, Brad.” Janet smiled at him, shaking her head. “Imagine if the car broke down in the middle of nowhere! Good thing we’re safe and warm here.”

Brad sat on the bed and put his arms around Janet. “You’ll always be safe with me, sweetheart.”

“I know.” She returned the embrace and kissed him again. They spent the next few hours cuddling and talking about their plans for the future.


	2. Surprise!

Brad hung up the phone. Janet had just called, saying that she was coming over, and that she needed to talk to him about something important. Whatever this was, Brad suspected that it couldn’t be good. He’d noticed that she hadn’t been her usual cheerful self at Christmas a few weeks earlier, which was strange. She’d always been able to get into the Christmas spirit before, but this time she’d seemed distracted. Brad decided to read a book while he waited, but abandoned that idea when he found he was unable to concentrate. He wondered what Janet wanted to talk to him about. Did she want to break up? Had she fallen in love with someone else? Of course not. He shook his head, trying to get these thoughts out of his head.

When Janet arrived, he couldn’t help but wonder if his suspicions had been right. Instead of leaping into his arms and kissing him, which had been her usual greeting for as long as they had been together, she gave him a sad smile as she walked into his apartment. He took her coat and hung it in the closet, glancing at her worriedly as she paced back and forth.

She stopped pacing and looked him, her eyes filled with tears. “Brad, I...” She gulped, unsure of where to start.

“Honey, what’s going on? You can tell me.” Brad pulled Janet close to him and gently rubbed her back as she sobbed.

“Oh, Brad.” She buried her face into his chest. “Why didn’t I listen to my mother? She always said this sort of thing would lead to trouble and seat wetting.”

“What sort of thing?” Brad was confused.

“Maybe you should sit down for this.” Janet took his hand and led him to the couch, and they both sat down. “Do you remember what happened at the end of November? After Ralph and Betty’s wedding, to be exact.”

Brad blushed as he remembered waking up next to Janet the morning after the wedding. He nodded.

“Well, a few weeks ago, I started feeling sick. At first I wasn’t worried, since it’s the right time of year for the flu and other bugs. Today, I decided I should go to the doctor, and, um...” Janet paused.

Brad gasped. “Oh my god, you’re...”

Janet nodded, her eyes tearing up again.

“You’re _dying_!!! Oh, Janet.” Brad jumped to his feet. He could feel his eyes itching, but tried to hold back the tears and be strong for Janet’s sake.

“What? No, that’s not it at all!” Janet couldn’t help but giggle.

“Oh, that’s a relief! I don’t ever want to lose you.” Brad smiled, but immediately turned serious again. “So, what’s wrong?”

She sighed. “I’m pregnant, Brad.”

Stunned, Brad sat back down, but missed the couch and landed on the floor. As he got back up, a grin spread across his face. “Janet, that’s wonderful!” He noticed that she’d started crying again. “Isn’t it? I thought you wanted children.”

“I do. I’ve always dreamed of having a family with you, Brad. It’s just...” She looked into his eyes. “I thought we’d get married first. What will people think?”

“Don’t worry about that, Janet. The most important thing is that we love each other. We’ll make this work, I know it!”

“Oh, Brad, you’re right.” She smiled and kissed him.

He returned the kiss. “Whatever happens, we can be sure of one thing.”

“What’s that, Brad?”

“1976 is going to be one of the best years of our lives.”


	3. Family

As Brad picked up the phone and dialed, he reflected on how much his and Janet’s lives had changed in the last few months. They had gotten married on February 7. He remembered how beautiful and happy Janet had looked as she walked up the aisle toward him, her long white dress concealing the small bump that had begun to show. If anyone was suspicious about the reason why Brad and Janet had decided to get married much sooner than they had originally planned, they kept it to themselves. Everyone had a wonderful time that day.

Before they knew it, it was August 16 and Brad had just spent lots of time on the phone with various friends and relatives. Exhausted, he stifled a yawn as he put the phone to his ear and waited.

 _“Hello?”_

“Dr. Scott? Hi! This is Brad Majors.”

 _“Hello, Brad! How are you?”_

“I’m great, Dr. Scott. I’m just calling to let you know that Janet had the baby early this morning, around 1:00!”

 _“Congratulations, Brad! Boy or girl?”_

“It’s a boy. We’ve decided to name him Timothy Everett Majors.”

 _“Everett?”_ Dr. Scott sounded touched.

“Of course! If it weren’t for you, Janet and I might never have met, and Tim wouldn’t exist. You should see him, Dr. Scott. He’s just seven hours old, truly beautiful to behold.” Brad beamed with pride.

 _“Well, I’m happy for you, Brad. All of you. I know you must be eager to spend more time with your new family, so I won’t keep you. Give my love to your wife and son!”_

“I will, Dr. Scott. Bye!”

 _“Goodbye, Brad.”_

Brad hung up the phone. Whistling, he started walking back to Janet’s room. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice two nurses walking in his direction. He nearly knocked one of them over as he passed by.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” She yelled as she steadied herself.

Embarrassed, Brad mumbled an apology and scurried down the hall.

The nurse sighed and turned to her colleague. “Now I’ve lost my train of thought. Where was I?”

“You were starting to tell me about the patient in Room 235. The one who’s been in a coma since November.”

“Right. Well, when I went to check on him this morning I got such a shock!”

“Did he finally wake up?”

“No, nothing’s changed except his facial expression.”

“What do you mean?”

“He had a wide grin on his face. Reminded me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.”


	4. The Hapschatts' Anniversary

On November 29, 1976 Ralph and Betty Hapschatt threw a party to celebrate their first anniversary. Their guests included Brad and Janet, as well as other close friends. They had also invited Dr. Scott. They all had fun reminiscing about high school and other times they’d shared. Even Janet, who was nervous about being away from Tim for so many hours, was enjoying herself.

“Thank you so much for being here, everyone!” Betty beamed.

“I’m so glad my parents were able to look after Tim today, so we could be here.” Janet grinned, squeezing Brad’s hand. “Oh, that reminds me. Thanks again for the teddy bear, Dr. Scott. Timmy loves it.”

“You’re welcome. You know, I chose that bear because it reminded me of the one I gave my nephew when he was a child.” Dr. Scott smiled a bit sadly.

“I didn’t know you had a nephew, Dr. Scott.” Brad said.

“Yes, his name’s Eddie. We were always very close. He was the son I never had.”

“Was? Did something happen to him?” Betty put her hand on Dr. Scott’s arm.

“I think so. It’s been a year since I heard from him.” He started tearing up. “It’s a long story.”

“Tell us what happened, Dr. Scott. If you want to, that is.” Brad said, frowning. The others nodded in agreement.

“I’ll start at the beginning. A short time before Eddie was born, his father ran off, saying he didn’t want the responsibility. My sister Greta had to raise her son alone, but Eddie was a handful. I helped any way I could. I gave him that teddy bear when he was three. He yelled that he didn’t like it, and tore it to shreds. That was mild compared to things he did later in his life. When Eddie said he didn’t like his teddy, you knew he was a no-good kid. But when he threatened your life with a switchblade knife...”

“What a guy!” Ralph exclaimed.

“Makes you cry.” Janet shook her head, glancing at Brad.

“And I did.” Dr. Scott nodded.

“A switchblade knife? Is that how you...?” Brad nervously pointed to Dr. Scott’s wheelchair.

“Goodness, no! Eddie wouldn’t physically harm anyone he loved. No, I was in a car accident a long time ago.” Dr. Scott explained. “Anyway, two years ago, my sister died of cancer. Eddie took it much harder than anyone. He left home the same day, saying that he could no longer stay in that house, with memories of his mother everywhere he looked. I offered to help him find an apartment, since he didn’t want to be a burden on me. Once he had a place to live, instead of getting a job right away, he preferred to spend all his time on rock and roll, porn and his motorbike.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss, Dr. Scott.” Janet put her head on Brad’s shoulder and sobbed quietly. There were similar reactions around the room.

“Thank you. After a few months, Eddie called me to say he’d found a job as a candy man. I knew he was selling drugs, not candy, but he sounded more cheerful than he had for a while, so I didn’t want to burst his bubble by disapproving. He said he’d also met a girl. Columbia, or something like that. The last time I spoke to Eddie, a bit more than a year ago, he said she’d invited him to her house to meet the people she lived with. The next day I got a letter from him. I didn’t recognize the handwriting on the envelope, but the note inside was obviously written by Eddie. He wanted me to rescue him from these people because they were about to carry out an evil deed. There was a return address, so I decided to go there to find Eddie. All I found was a big empty space where the house must have been. Or perhaps a castle. It was certainly a big enough space.”

“Is that why you couldn’t come to our wedding?” Ralph asked. “Why didn’t you tell us anything about this?”

“I’m sorry, Ralph and Betty. I just didn’t want to be any worry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Betty gave him a reassuring smile.

“Well, let’s change the subject. This is a time for celebration!” Dr. Scott returned the smile.

“Good idea, Dr. Scott.” Janet took an envelope out of her purse. “I brought pictures of Tim!”

Everyone gathered around to look at the pictures. “He’s smiling in this one!” Betty exclaimed.

“Yes, this was one of his first smiles. It looks kind of like a smirk, but it’s definitely a smile!” Janet gazed lovingly at the photo. “I miss him... Mind if I call my parents to see how he’s doing?”

“Go right ahead.” Ralph gestured in the direction of the phone.

While Janet was on the phone, Betty picked up one of the photos. “Oh, look, he has Janet’s eyes!”

Ralph looked over his wife’s shoulder. “Yes, and Brad’s...” He peered at the photo, unable to find any of Brad’s features.

“That’s okay, Ralph. I know he doesn’t really look like me right now, but maybe when he’s older.”

Jerry, one of their friends, looked at another photo. “How did his hair end up darker than yours or Janet’s, Brad? Are you sure he’s your kid?”

“Of course he is. My mother had black hair, so he probably got it from her.” Brad narrowed his eyes. “What are you implying?”

Janet came back into the room. “Timmy’s fine.” She kissed the top of Brad’s head and sat back down. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem. I’m sure I’ll be the same this time next year.” Betty shared a knowing smile with Ralph.

Janet’s eyes widened. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Yes! I’m due in May!”

After all the hugs, handshakes and congratulations had died down, Dr. Scott raised his glass. “To Ralph and Betty, one of the couples that was formed in my classroom!” He smiled at the couple. “And to absent friends.”


	5. Five Years Later

Time flew, and soon Tim was five years old and going off to kindergarten. He enjoyed it the first few weeks, and chattered excitedly to Brad and Janet about it over dinner every night. One night, however, was different.

“How was your day, sweetie?” Janet asked her son, surprised that he hadn’t said anything about it. He didn’t usually need to be prompted.

“Fine.” He sighed.

“Just fine? Did something bad happen today?” She asked, concerned.

Tim simply shrugged and looked down at his plate.

“Oh, maybe you’re coming down with something.” Janet put her hand on his forehead. “You don’t have a fever.”

“Relax, Janet. If Tim doesn’t want to talk about his day, he doesn’t have to.”

“You’re right Brad.”

“Say, this is good meatloaf, Janet. Something’s different about it.” Brad took another bite.

“Thanks, Brad.” Janet smiled at him. “I added a bit of curry.”

“Delicious!” Brad smiled back.

They continued eating in silence for a few minutes. “Brad, I’ve been thinking a lot about Dr. Scott lately. Soon it’ll be exactly six years since...” Janet stopped and glanced at Tim, not wanting to scare him by saying too much. “Well, you know.”

“Eddie.” Brad nodded. “This time of year must be difficult for Dr. Scott. We should invite him over soon. What do you think?”

“Great idea.” Janet smiled. “It’s been so long. Tim probably doesn’t even remember him. Do you, honey?” She looked at Tim, stunned to see tears rolling down his face. “Timmy? What’s wrong?”

“My teacher doesn’t like me. She never liked me!” His little body shook as he cried harder.

“What makes you say that?” Janet motioned for him to sit on her lap. When he did, she rocked him and rubbed his back.

“Today I drew a picture of Daddy, and she didn’t put it on the wall.” Tim sniffled.

“Well, maybe there wasn’t enough space for everybody’s pictures, so she had to choose only a few of them.” Janet suggested. “That must have been a difficult decision.”

“Your mother has a point, Tim.” Brad gave him a reassuring smile. “How many of you didn’t get your drawings on the wall?”

“Just me.” Tim climbed off Janet’s lap and went back to his seat. “Ms. Williams is mean and I hate her!” Glaring at his meatloaf, he began stabbing at it repeatedly with his fork.

“Tim!” Janet cried.

Brad opened his mouth to scold him, but decided against it. He didn’t want to make the boy more upset than he already was. “If you want, you can draw another picture for me. I’ll hang it up where I can look at it every day!”

Tim looked up from his plate, his face turning red. “I didn’t make it for YOU!” He yelled at Brad, then ran upstairs to his room.

Brad blinked. “What was that about?”

“I don’t know, but we really need to get to the bottom of this.” Janet got up from the table and went upstairs to check on Tim, making a mental note to get in touch with his teacher as soon as possible.

Brad, who hadn’t moved from his seat, shook his head. “There’s something unusual about him. I just know it.” He muttered to himself.


	6. Meeting Ms. Williams

The following Friday night, Brad and Janet had an appointment at Tim’s school to speak to Ms. Williams. As they waited in the hallway Janet paced back and forth, like she sometimes did when she was nervous. “Oh, Brad, what if this woman is a complete monster? Is it a good idea to leave Tim with her?”

Brad took Janet’s hand. “Let’s not jump to conclusions before we know exactly what’s going on.”

The classroom door suddenly opened, and a woman smiled at the couple. “Mr. and Mrs. Majors? Hi, I’m Molly Williams.”

Janet relaxed a bit when she saw that Ms. Williams didn’t seem to be a bad person. She and Brad followed the teacher into the room, and sat in the two chairs in front of Ms. Williams’ desk.

“Now, what did you want to speak to me about?” Ms. Williams leaned forward and folded her hands on her desk.

“Well, Ms. Williams, we’re a bit concerned.” Janet frowned. “Tim feels that you don’t like him.”

“Where on Earth did he get that idea?”

“He said you refused to put his drawing on the wall.”

“Oh.” Ms. Williams looked down at her desk. “I can explain. You see, I’d asked the children to draw a picture of anyone in their family. It could be a parent, a sibling, a grandparent, aunt or uncle... Well, you get the idea. One little girl even drew a picture of her dog. It was white with brown spots. You know, I had a dog like that once. His name was Max and he had the most adorable little face...”

Brad took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes wearily. “Ms. Williams, we’re here to discuss our son, not your dog.”

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry.” Ms. Williams blushed and continued. “Anyway, Tim showed me his drawing, which he said was of his father, and I...” She glanced at Brad. “Mr. Majors, I know that the clothes you wear around the house are none of my business. All I ask is that you stop doing that around your son.”

“Doing what?” Brad asked.

Ms. Williams whispered so low that Brad and Janet couldn’t understand what she said.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t catch that.” Brad said.

“Cross-dressing!” Ms. Williams yelled, then clapped her hand over her mouth, turning beet red. She pulled a piece of paper out of her desk and held it out.

Janet took the paper and looked at it. There was a drawing of a man who appeared to be wearing an outfit that included a corset and fishnet stockings. She gasped as she handed it to Brad.

“What is this? I don’t... I’ve never...” Brad sputtered.

“Ms. Williams, my husband has never dressed like that!” Janet exclaimed.

“Well, Tim certainly wouldn’t have come up with that idea on his own.” Ms. Williams said.

“There’s something not quite right about him.” Brad sighed. “I’ve suspected it for a while, but now I know for sure.”

Janet gaped at him. “What are you talking about? How can you talk that way about your own son?”

“For starters, remember the time we caught him smearing your makeup all over his face?”

“Brad, he was just playing! Besides, I thought he looked cute.” Janet gazed sadly at him. “He’s your son! I thought you loved him unconditionally.”

Brad shook his head. “I don’t know, Janet. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was from another planet.”

Ms. Williams spoke up. “I think I know someone who might be able to help your son.” She wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Janet.

Janet looked at what Ms. Williams had written. “A psychologist? I really don’t think this is necessary, Ms. Williams. My baby isn’t crazy!” She then turned to Brad. “We’re leaving.” She put the paper on the desk and stood up, grabbing Tim’s drawing. “Would you mind if I took this?” She asked Ms. Williams.

“No, not at all.” Ms. Williams replied, relieved to get rid of it.

Janet looked at her. “Thank you for your concern, but I think we can handle this ourselves.” She glared at Brad and walked out of the room, muttering under her breath. “Planet shmanet.”

“Janet!” Brad called out to her. He thanked Ms. Williams, took the piece of paper she’d tried to give them, and hurried after his wife.

They argued all the way home, but stopped just before they walked through the door. After Brad left to drive the babysitter home, Janet went upstairs to Tim’s room. The boy was sleeping soundly, his arms wrapped around the teddy bear that Dr. Scott had given him when he was a baby. Janet sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Tim’s hair, whispering softly enough that she wouldn’t wake him. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I don’t know how or when, but everything will be fine. I promise.” Tired, she decided to go to bed right away, instead of waiting for Brad. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to him anyway.


	7. Who's Your Daddy?

As Janet was waking up the next morning, she instinctively reached out toward Brad’s side of the bed. Her eyes flew open as she realized that she was alone. She reasoned that he was probably in the bathroom, but when she went to check, he wasn’t there. It was then that she remembered the horrible fight they’d had the night before, and it dawned on her that he’d probably spent the night on the couch. She went downstairs, but there was no sign of Brad anywhere. With a small sigh, she headed to the kitchen.

Tim bounded down the stairs and rushed into the kitchen. “Hi, Mommy!” He chirped, giving her a big smile.

“Good morning, sweetie.” She bent down to hug him and kiss the top of his head, and then smiled as she watched him dance around the room. “You’re in a good mood today!”

“Daddy’s coming home!” He exclaimed.

“How do you know?” She asked, surprised. After all, she didn’t even know where Brad was, so how would Tim?

“I just know.” He shrugged.

Janet took out a box of Rice Krispies, pouring some into two bowls. After adding milk, she put the bowls on the table. “Speaking of your father, I have a question for you.” Janet said. She grabbed her purse and took out Tim’s drawing. “Can you tell me about this?”

Tim looked at the drawing. “That’s Daddy.” He explained, looking at Janet as if she’d lost her mind.

“Have you ever seen him wear clothes like that?”

“No, but I know he does.” Tim said, shoveling a big spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

Janet got up from the table and took a photo of Brad off the fridge. “This is the way he usually dresses. I’ve never seen him wear something like in your drawing.”

Tim looked confusedly at the photo. “That’s not Daddy. I mean, he is Daddy, just not the real one.”

Janet stared at her son, opening and closing her mouth a few times before finally speaking. “Honey, I don’t know where you got this idea, but this is your real daddy.” She pointed at the photo.

Tim shook his head. “No, he’s not.”

Janet sat back down, stunned. Maybe Brad was right, and there was something wrong with Tim after all. She felt tears threaten to escape, but she managed to put a fake smile on her face as they finished breakfast. As soon as she got up to clear the dishes, the doorbell rang. She went to answer the door, startled by the man who was standing there. His face was heavily made up, and he was wearing a long black cloak and high heels.

“Janet, my darling! I’ve missed you.” The man said as a wide grin spread across his face. He started moving toward her.

Janet gasped and backed away from him. “Who are you, and how do you know my name?”

He frowned. “You don’t remember?” He thought for a minute, his eyes shining as he came up with an idea. “Perhaps this will refresh your memory!” He threw off his cloak to reveal an outfit similar to the one in Tim’s drawing, and wrapped his arms around Janet. He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her fiercely.

Janet struggled, trying to free herself. She pounded his chest with her fists, but he wouldn’t let go. After a while, she relaxed as memories flashed through her brain.

 _After the wedding, Brad had dropped Janet off at her apartment. After a quick change of clothes and phone call to her family to announce their engagement, she was ready to visit Dr. Scott. Brad came back to pick her up, and they were on their way. They were about halfway there when the car broke down. The only nearby house was a castle in the middle of nowhere. They decided to go there to phone for help, but it wasn’t that simple. Instead of letting them use the phone, the castle’s inhabitants kept them there for hours, making them do things they’d never done before. Sexual things. Cannibalism. She’d lost her virginity to the master of the castle, a scientist, and then slept with his creation, Rocky, after catching Brad also succumbing to the master’s charm. Then Dr. Scott showed up. The servants, Riff Raff and Magenta, served dinner, which was revealed to be the remains of Dr. Scott’s nephew, Eddie. Afterwards, Janet, Brad and Rocky were forced to perform in a floorshow along with Columbia, a girl who lived in the castle. Riff Raff killed Rocky after killing the master. The man she’d fallen in love with that night, who was in fact not dead and was kissing her at this very moment. Frank N. Furter._

Janet pulled away from Frank and gazed dreamily into his eyes. “I’ve missed you too, Frankie.” They kissed again.


	8. Reunited

Janet wrapped her arms around Frank’s neck and hugged him tightly. “Oh, Frank, I never thought I’d see you again! I was sure Riff Raff killed you.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m most certainly not dead.” Frank smiled.

“How did you come back?” Janet asked. “I remember seeing a flash of light, then the castle was gone.”

“Riff Raff and Magenta must have removed me from the castle before flying to Transylvania. They probably didn’t want there to be any evidence that they’d killed me.” Frank said. “When I regained consciousness a month ago, I was in a hospital room here in Denton. I was told that I’d been in a coma for almost six years.”

Janet put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my god.”

“Apparently, someone found me in the woods with this.” He indicated the large bag at his feet. “I have a feeling Magenta was the one who packed this bag. I remember seeing her walking around with a pile of clothes while I was preparing for the floorshow, but at the time I just thought she was putting laundry away.”

“That was nice of her.”

“I don’t know if she was being nice, or just trying to get rid of any trace of me.” Frank scoffed.

“Well, I remember her acting surprised when Riff Raff shot you and Rocky.” Janet said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Rocky?” Frank gasped. “Is he...?”

Janet nodded. “After you died... I mean, when we all thought you’d died, Rocky put you on his back and started climbing up the RKO tower. Riff Raff kept shooting at him, until the tower crashed down into the pool, taking you and Rocky with it.” She glanced at Frank, who looked like he might start crying. “Oh, Frankie. Come in and have a seat.” She led him to the living room, where they sat on the couch and she held his hand as he wept.

“Rocky...” Frank sighed. “All that work for nothing!”

Janet looked at him, shocked.

“Of course, I cared about him, in a way. He was just a plaything, however, like almost everybody else in my life. You see, Janet, although I’ve made love many times, I’d never actually been in love.” He gazed deeply into her eyes. “Until I met you. I think about you all the time. Before I left the hospital, I looked you up in the phonebook. I knew you’d probably be married to Brad by now, and as luck would have it, there was just one B. Majors listed!”

“Yes, Brad and I got married in 1976. I wish I could say we’re happily married, but...”

Frank looked at Janet with concern. “What happened?”

“We had a fight last night. He said very hurtful things about our son, and then he left. I don’t know where he is right now.” Janet ran a hand through her hair and moved closer to Frank.

Frank put his arm around Janet. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” Then he grinned. “Where is he?”

Janet glanced at him with confusion. “I thought I just told you. I don’t know where Brad is.”

“Not Brad.” Frank said, with a dreamy look in his eyes. “I was referring to my son!”

“Your...” Janet stared at Frank, noticing how much he resembled Tim. Her eyes went wide as she realized what this meant. “How did you know?”

“Oh, that’s right, it’s not the same for humans. You see, Janet, when Transylvanians are related by blood, they have an almost psychic connection. We can’t read each other’s minds, but we can sense each other’s presence.”

“How long have you known about him?” Janet asked.

“I could feel something during the floorshow, but I wasn’t entirely sure. My suspicions were confirmed when I woke up in the hospital. I knew you’d given birth to my child, Janet.”

“That would explain things that have been going on. Tim knows that Brad’s not his real father. I didn’t understand until now.” Janet was relieved.

“Tim...” Frank put a hand to his heart and got that dreamy look in his eyes again. “I’ve always liked that name.”

Janet stood up. “Would you like to meet him?”

“Of course.”

They were about to go into the kitchen to see Tim, when the front door suddenly opened and Brad walked in.


	9. Hello, Goodbye

Brad stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. “Janet!” He called out as he hung up his jacket. “I’m sorry about last night. If you want to pretend there’s nothing wrong with Tim, that’s fine with...” He stopped talking when he entered the living room and saw Janet standing there, hand in hand with a transvestite. After staring confusedly at them for a minute, Brad’s memories all came rushing back to him, like Janet’s had earlier.

“Brad.” Frank gave him a slight nod, looking annoyed.

“Frank!” Brad stepped forward and glared at him.

“Daddy?” Tim came in from the kitchen and stared at the scene, his eyes wide.

“Tim.” Brad started walking over to the boy.

“Brad!” Frank yelled at Brad, following him.

“Frank!” Brad turned around and narrowed his eyes at Frank.

“Daddy!” Tim began running toward them.

“Tim?” Brad gasped in bewilderment as the boy ran past him.

“Brad.” Frank smirked.

“Frank!” Brad hoped Frank wouldn’t do anything to Tim.

“Daddy!” Tim stood in front of Frank, gazing up at him in awe.

“Tim...” Brad sighed as he finally understood. He turned and silently went upstairs.

Janet, who had sat back down on the couch in a daze when Brad came in, finally spoke. “Frank, this is Tim.” She stood up and walked over to them.

“Are you really my Daddy?” Tim asked.

Frank nodded and knelt down to Tim’s level. “Tim, I am your father.” Tears of joy filled his eyes as he hugged his son.

Janet started giggling, causing Frank to raise his eyebrows at her. “Sorry, Frankie. You just reminded me of Darth Vader for a second there.”

“Darth who?”

“Vader. He’s a character from a movie that came out last year.” Janet fiddled nervously with one of her earrings. “I guess there’s lots of stuff that you missed in the last few years. I’ll explain it all later.”

Frank stood up and kissed her. “Don’t worry, I know this whole thing is overwhelming.”

Janet motioned for Tim to come closer to her. She leaned over and whispered something to him.

Tim nodded and ran into the kitchen. When he came back, he was holding his drawing. He handed it to Frank. “I made this for you.” He said shyly.

Frank grinned as he looked at the picture. “You’re very talented!”

Tim beamed, then turned serious. “My teacher didn’t like it.”

“Really? Well, maybe I’ll have to do something about that.” Frank said, his eyes glinting.

“Frank!” Janet gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

Frank sighed. “No, I suppose that’s not a good idea.”

Brad came back downstairs carrying a suitcase. He went into the living room. “Janet?”

Janet turned to Tim. “Honey, do you want to give your father a tour of the house? I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

“Sure!” Tim started walking out of the room, then turned around. “You coming, Daddy?”

“I’ll be right there.” Frank looked at Janet, wordlessly asking if she’d be okay.

Janet nodded. When she and Brad were alone, she turned to face him, her arms crossed.

Brad gawked at her. “It all makes sense now. For years people have been asking why Tim and I don’t look alike. They said you’d cheated on me, but I didn’t believe them. There was no way my sweet, innocent Janet could do that. I defended you, Janet!” He took his glasses off. “You did cheat on me. Twice! I knew about Rocky, but...”

“The only reason I slept with Rocky was to get back at you! I saw you and Frank on the monitor.” Janet glared at him. “You didn’t seem this upset about Rocky. You cheated on me with Frank too, you know.”

“Yes, but that’s different.”

“Oh?” Janet put her hands on her hips. “How so?”

“Well...” Brad thought for a second, at a loss for words. Finally, he came up with something. “At least I didn’t get pregnant!”

“Yeah, you really dodged a bullet there, didn’t you?” Janet rolled her eyes. “You should be happy, Brad. You clearly weren’t interested in being a good father to Tim, from what you said last night. Well, you don’t have to worry about that now. He has a father who loves him just the way he is.”

“You and Frank N. Furter... It’s all over between us, Janet. I wish there could be some kind of time warp, so I could go back to high school and make it so that I never met you! If I’d known back then that you’d turn out to be a slut...” Brad shook his head, picked up his suitcase and walked out the door.

Janet ran out onto the porch. “Asshole!” She yelled, but Brad either didn’t hear or chose to ignore her. She went back in, closed the door and burst into tears.


	10. Betty Finds Out

Frank walked down the stairs to find Janet leaning against the front door. When he got closer he realized she was crying. He gently put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. “Oh, sweetheart! Come here.” He held her in his arms, whispering soothing words to her.

“Frankie...” Janet lifted her head from his shoulder. “It was awful! The things he said...”

“Don’t worry. Brad’s gone now.” He wiped her tears away and kissed her. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. “You don’t regret this, do you? Us, I mean.”

Janet smiled. “No, of course not! I love you, and I’m glad you’re here. Why do you ask?”

“I know you and Brad were together for a long time. When I saw how upset you were just now, I thought you might be having second thoughts.”

“Not at all. I realized today that maybe I was wrong about Brad.” Janet explained. “Actually, I think I figured that out the night we met you. He was probably always that uptight, but maybe I didn’t see it until then. The final straw, though, was what he said last night.”

Frank frowned. “Tim doesn’t need that jerk in his life.”

“No, he doesn’t. What he needs is a good father. One who will always love and support him, no matter what happens.” Janet looked at Frank. “Like you.”

“I’ve only really known that boy for a few minutes, but I love him so much already.” Frank grinned. “I missed out on the first five years, but I promise I’ll always be there for both of you.”

“Where is Tim, anyway?” Janet asked.

“He’s playing in his room. I was worried about you, since I knew your conversation with Brad wouldn’t be pleasant. I told Tim I’d be back soon, and came downstairs.” Frank said.

“I’m just glad you were able to distract him while Brad was here. Was he affected by it?”

“I don’t think so.” Frank leaned forward to kiss her, but was interrupted by the doorbell.

“Why don’t you go back upstairs? Tim’s probably wondering where you are.” Janet said. “I’ll see who it is, and I’ll come up and join you soon.”

“Okay.” Frank headed up the stairs.

Janet opened the door. Betty was standing there with her four-year-old daughter Grace. “Hi!” Janet exclaimed.

“Hi, Janet.” Betty looked worriedly at her, then turned to Grace. “Honey, do you want to go play with Tim while I talk to Janet?”

Tim chose that exact moment to come downstairs. After greeting each other, the two children ran off.

Betty sighed. “Oh, Janet, I heard about what happened! I’m so sorry.”

“You mean me and Brad? How did you know?”

“Brad showed up at our house a few minutes ago. I could tell that he was upset and wanted to talk to Ralph, so I decided to give them some privacy.” Betty said. “I’m a bit confused. As I was walking out the door, I could hear Brad saying something about you and an alien. He also mentioned something about a hot dog.”

“Hot dog?”

“I could have sworn I heard the word frankfurter.”

Janet sighed. “Betty, I can explain everything. Come on in.” The two women went into the living room and sat down. She then told Betty the whole story about everything that had happened.

Betty listened attentively to Janet, not saying anything until after she’d heard the whole thing. “So, basically, Tim is part alien and you’re in a relationship with his father, who’s a transvestite. What planet did you say this guy was from, again?”

“His name is Frank N. Furter, and he’s from the planet Transsexual, in the galaxy of Transylvania.” Janet glanced at Betty, who had a shocked expression on her face. “Don’t worry. He’s actually a really sweet guy once you get to know him.”

“A sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania...” Betty shook her head in disbelief.

“I’m so sorry, Betty. I would have told you everything sooner, but up until today, I didn’t remember anything that happened that night.” Janet felt awful. In all the time they’d known each other, she and Betty had never kept things from each other.

“I know.” Betty smiled at Janet. “It’ll take some getting used to, but I just want you to be happy.”

Janet smiled back. “I am.”

Frank came back downstairs just then. “Janet?” He went into the living room.

Janet looked at Betty, whose eyes were so wide they looked like they would pop out of her head. “Betty, this is Dr. Frank N. Furter. Frank, this is my friend Betty Hapschatt.”

Frank took Betty’s hand and kissed it. “Enchanté.”

Betty gazed at her hand in amazement, blushed and looked at Frank. “Pleased to meet you, Mr., I mean, Dr. Furter.”

Frank chuckled. “Please, just call me Frank. Any friend of Janet’s is, I hope, a friend of mine.” He gave her one of his trademark Cheshire cat grins.

With that, Janet invited Betty and Grace to stay for as long as they wanted that day. The three adults talked and got to know each other while the children played.


	11. Love Changes Everything

It was late by the time Betty and Grace left. After Janet said goodbye to them and closed the door, she noticed that Tim seemed to be having trouble staying awake. “Okay, I think it’s time for bed, Tim.” She said.

“Can’t I stay up longer? Please, Mommy?” He pleaded, his eyes struggling to stay open.

Frank chuckled at his son’s determination. “Your mother’s right. You need your sleep.”

Tim looked at Frank, frowning. “But I was having fun with you, Daddy.”

“I’ll still be here when you wake up tomorrow.” Frank quickly glanced at Janet, who nodded her approval. “I’m not going anywhere!”

Janet smiled. “You can stay here longer than that, Frank. Would you like to move in with us?”

“I’d love to.” Frank smiled back at her.

“You’re staying here forever and ever, right, Daddy?” Tim hopped up and down excitedly, suddenly full of energy.

“That’s right, Tim.” Frank said, grinning.

“Now that that’s settled, let’s get you to bed.” Janet said to Tim.

“Can Daddy tuck me in?” Tim asked, glancing at Frank.

“But of course!” Frank picked up the giggling little boy.

Janet blew kisses to both of them as she watched them go up the stairs. Then she sat down and waited for Frank to return. She thought about how lucky she was to have such a wonderful man in her life. She and Tim were both lucky to have him, and she hoped it would last forever. She also wondered how she could have forgotten about Frank’s existence for so long. She knew that sometimes people forget certain things after a traumatic experience, so maybe that was it. She got so lost in thought that she jumped when Frank came back and sat beside her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said, laughing.

“Don’t worry about it. I was just thinking, that’s all.”

“About what?” He asked.

“About you.” She snuggled up to him. “I’m glad you came back, Frankie.”

“Me too. I was so afraid you’d reject me after the way I treated you back then. As I said earlier, I’d never been in love before, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. With you, there was this spark that I’d never felt with anyone else. It actually meant something.” Frank explained. “And then when I saw you with Rocky... I got so angry that I couldn’t think straight.”

“I’m so sorry, Frank.” Janet said, ashamed. “I was just confused. When you left my room, I had so many emotions running through my head. I was disgusted with myself, because I’d always thought I’d be married before anything like that would happen. I was also amazed at how much I liked it. That spark you just mentioned... I felt it too. Then when I looked at the monitor and saw you and Brad in bed together... Rocky was right there in the lab, and well, one thing led to another. It didn’t mean anything to me.”

“Brad didn’t mean anything to me either. I just did that out of habit.” Frank shrugged. “If you don’t mind my asking, Janet, why were you with him for so long?”

“We met in high school and started dating. Until we ended up in your castle, I didn’t find it odd that our relationship didn’t evolve. He was still the shy, awkward teenage boy I’d fallen for all those years ago, and that was fine. We were both naive back then. We’d never gone beyond kissing.” Janet sighed. “Until you came along, I never even thought about giving in to absolute pleasure.”

“Well, for me it’s just the opposite. I didn’t know the names of my sexual partners half the time, and I didn’t care. They were just there to entertain me, nothing more. When I met you, though, I found myself wanting to ask you so many questions. I wanted to get to know you as a person. I wasn’t sure how to bring it up, though, so I kept it to myself. Afterwards, I would have loved to stay and hold you in my arms, but I didn’t even know if you felt the same way.”

“Oh, Frankie.” Janet snuggled closer. “So, in other words, you need a friendly hand.”

Frank nodded, grinning suggestively at her. “And you need action.” He then chased her up the stairs.


	12. An Engaging Performance

It was now about a month since Frank moved in. Janet giggled to herself when she saw the sign on her son’s bedroom door. It had the word “Mommy” in a red circle with a line through it. Frank and Tim had been awfully secretive lately, having private conversations where she couldn’t hear them. She wasn’t offended, though. She loved the fact that they were so close. She and Frank had grown closer too, and they were more in love than ever. She just wished she could figure out what was going on!

The door suddenly opened and Tim poked his head out. “Mommy, were you listening?” He asked, looking at her suspiciously.

“No, sweetie. I didn’t hear anything.” Janet said.

“Good!” He stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him, making sure she couldn’t see inside. He took her hand and led her down the stairs. When they got to the living room, he asked her to sit down. He then ran back upstairs.

Janet sat on the couch and waited. She still didn’t know what was going on, but maybe she’d find out soon.

Tim came back downstairs carrying his cassette player. He set it down on the floor a couple of feet away from where Janet was sitting, then sat down on the floor beside the cassette player.

Frank entered the room at that moment and stood in front of Janet, smiling at her. “Janet, dearest, I know you’re probably anxious to find out what we’ve been up to. Well, wonder no longer!” He nodded at Tim.

Tim turned on the music and watched as his father started to sing and dance.

“Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,  
Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together,  
Brighter than a lucky penny,  
When you're near the rain cloud disappears, dear,  
And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine.

My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,  
That's how this refrain goes, so come on, join in everybody!

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,  
Everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way  
When you're in love to stay.

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,  
Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together,  
Brighter than a lucky penny,  
When you're near the rain cloud disappears, dear,  
And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine.

My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,  
That's how this refrain goes, so come on, join in everybody!

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,  
Everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way  
'Cause you're in love, you're in love,  
And love is here to stay!”

Janet, who’d been grinning from ear to ear during the whole song, gasped in shock when Frank got down on one knee in front of her.

He took both her hands in his. “Janet, I mean it when I say that everything’s wonderful when we’re together. Until you came into my life, I never thought I’d find someone as beautiful and amazing as you. You helped me believe that true love was possible. Like the song says, I’m in love to stay.” He nodded at Tim again.

Tim walked over to his parents and handed Frank a tiny box. He then went back to where he’d been sitting.

Frank smiled at Janet as he opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. “Will you marry me?”

Janet grinned, wiping away tears of joy. “Yes, of course I will!”

Frank slipped the ring on Janet’s finger, and then kissed her tenderly.


	13. Wedding Day

The months flew by quickly. It was now March 6, 1982, Frank and Janet’s wedding day. Everyone there was in agreement that the couple looked ecstatic and so much in love as they stood at the altar. They wore almost identical wedding dresses, cream coloured for her and midnight blue for him.

During the reception later that evening, Janet looked around at all their guests. She noticed that only about half of the friends she’d invited were there, and suspected that Brad might have had something to do with it. She’d known from the start that some people would take sides, and that not everybody would be on her side. It didn’t matter. If they weren’t interested in being her friends anymore, that was up to them.

Betty approached Janet just then, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Well, you did it! Just a few hours ago, you were just plain old Janet Weiss, formerly Janet Majors, and now you’re Mrs. Frank Furter.” She hugged Janet.

“I’m so glad you could be here today.” Janet smiled at her friend.

“Oh, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world! Too bad Ralph couldn’t come, though. I asked him, but he just had too much work to do. You know how it is...” Betty said.

“I know why Ralph’s not here, Betty. It’s okay.” Janet smiled sadly. “He and Brad have been close for such a long time. They’d already known each other for ten years by the time they met us. Ralph is just being loyal to Brad. It’s normal.”

“Still, you’d think that since Brad has a new girlfriend now...” Betty stopped talking, worried that she’d said too much.

“Really?” Janet asked.

“Yeah, apparently he started going out with this girl around the time your divorce became official.”

“Well, I’m glad he’s moving on. I hope she makes him very...” Janet paused and closed her eyes for a moment as she was hit by a wave of nausea.

Betty put her hand on Janet’s shoulder. “Are you okay? Sorry if I upset you just now.”

Janet opened her eyes. “No, you didn’t upset me. Don’t worry.” She glanced at Betty’s concerned expression. “I haven’t been feeling well lately, but it’s nothing. Probably just nerves.”

“You look awfully pale. I’ll go get Frank.” Betty started walking away.

“Wait!” Janet grabbed Betty’s arm. “I’m fine, really. There’s no need to make him worry for no reason.”

“If you say so.” Betty squeezed Janet’s hand and went off in search of Grace, who was currently being chased around the room by Tim.

Janet looked around for Frank, spotting him talking to Dr. Scott. She made her way over to where they were sitting.

“So you see, Dr. Scott, all I cared about was that Eddie was stealing my spotlight. I’d been working on Rocky for a long time, and I could see how fascinated he was by Eddie. I suppose it was to be expected. They did share a brain, after all. I know that’s no excuse for what I did, but I’m terribly sorry.” Frank said.

“Yes, well, perhaps it was all for the best.” Dr. Scott gave him a sad smile. “I miss him so much, but look at it this way. With the motorcycle, not to mention all the drugs he was on, he probably wouldn’t have lived that much longer.”

“That’s true.” Frank nodded. “I just didn’t stop to think about how it would affect his family. I didn’t understand back then, but now I have a family of my own. If anything happened to them...” He shook his head sadly.

“I know how much Janet adores you. I admit that I was a bit shocked when she told me about your relationship, but I can see now that she made the right choice. You both did.” Dr. Scott looked at him sternly for a second. “You’d better not try to hurt her, Frank Furter.”

“I’d never dream of doing such a thing!” Frank smiled.

Dr. Scott smiled back. “I know. You’re okay by me.” He looked up to see Janet approaching. “Well, here’s your lovely bride!” Deciding to give the couple some time to be alone together, he went off to talk to some of his former students.

Frank stood up and wrapped his arms around Janet’s waist. “Hello, my love.”

Janet put her arms around Frank’s neck and kissed him passionately. Afterwards, she was puzzled to see him glance around the room as if looking for something. “Frank, honey? Is something wrong?”

“There’s that feeling again. It’s been going on for weeks now.” He glanced worriedly at Janet. “You didn’t invite one of my relatives here, did you?”

“No, of course not! I know you said you wanted to leave your old life behind on Transsexual, and I respect your decision. Besides, I don’t know how to contact them.”

“I know I can trust you.” He kissed her on the forehead. “It’s just that I can sense someone here. Besides Tim, of course.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you.” Janet gave him a concerned look.

Frank shrugged. “Maybe I’m just imagining it. Now, how are you feeling?”

Janet blinked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I know you’ve been sick lately. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t want you to worry.” Janet smiled reassuringly at him. “I’ve been under a lot a stress. Planning a wedding does that. I’m sure I’ll be fine soon.”

Frank smiled. “Maybe you’re right. Were you like this at your first wedding?”

Janet thought back. “I was. Of course, I was pregnant at the time, so that didn’t help much.” She snuggled up against him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Frank noticed that the feeling became stronger when Janet was close to him. He knew that she wasn’t related to him, of course. He hadn’t always had that feeling either. It had been going on for just a few weeks. Still, the mysterious relative he was sensing was near Janet. So close to her that they had to be touching. Frank realized how ridiculous that idea was, but the link was unmistakable. Then he thought about what she’d just said, and everything suddenly became clear. A huge grin spread across his face. “That’s it!” He exclaimed.

Janet looked at him. “What’s it?”

“Of course! Why didn’t I realize it before?” Frank clapped his hands excitedly. “Oh, Janet, that’s wonderful!”

Janet looked at her husband like he’d gone insane. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you get it? The way you’ve been feeling, the relative I’ve been sensing... We’re having a baby, Janet!” Frank did a little happy dance, but stopped just in time to catch his fainting wife before she hit the floor.


	14. Close Encounters of the Brad Kind

A week after the wedding, Janet went to the doctor to confirm what Frank had told her. She trusted Frank, of course, but she still wasn’t used to Transylvanian biology. She supposed she would understand over time, but for now she was more comfortable doing things the human way. As she stepped out of the doctor’s office, she smiled. Frank was right! She went into the waiting room to find him.

Frank looked up from the magazine he was reading when he saw Janet. He put the magazine down and walked over to her. “So, what did the doctor say?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

“You were right. I’m pregnant, Frank!” Janet kissed him.

“See, I told you!” Frank grinned. “Now do you believe me?”

Janet squeezed him. “I always believe you. Sorry if you thought otherwise.”

“I understand.” Frank said. “While I was waiting for you, I got an idea. If the baby’s a girl, I was thinking we could name her...”

“Janet?”

Janet turned around when she heard her name. Brad was standing there. She hadn’t seen him since the divorce. “Hi, Brad.”

“Hi. Um... How have you been?” Brad fiddled awkwardly with the zipper on his jacket.

“Good. You probably heard that we got married last week.” Janet looked at Brad, then at Frank.

“Yeah, Ralph told me.”

“What are you doing here, Brad?” Frank asked, annoyed.

“Oh, I’m just waiting for... Um...” Brad gestured toward the door that led to the different doctors’ offices. As if on cue, a woman came out of one of the doors. “Braddykins!” She exclaimed before walking over and kissing him.

Janet stood there not knowing where to look. She felt as though she’d seen this woman before.

Brad finally broke away from the kiss. Blushing, he put his arm around the woman. “Janet, this is my girlfriend, Molly.”

Janet suddenly realized where she’d seen Molly before. “Molly... Molly Williams? You’re my son’s teacher!”

Molly nodded. “That’s right.”

“Yeah, I ran into her a while ago. We got to talking and found out we had a lot in common. One thing led to another...” Brad smiled.

Molly smiled back, then turned to Janet. “I owe you an apology. Brad explained everything to me, and I know now that Tim isn’t crazy.”

“Thanks, Molly.” Janet gave her a small smile.

“He isn’t crazy at all, just a half-alien freak.” Molly had a disgusted look on her face.

Frank spoke up for the first time since Molly showed up. “Excuse me? My son is not a freak!”

“Doesn’t matter. Just three more months, then I’ll be free of him.” Molly grinned at Brad. “I’ll be able to concentrate on my own child.”

Brad gasped. “You mean it’s true? I’ve always wanted to be a father.”

Janet glared at him. “You were a father for five years, Brad. Or have you forgotten?”

“Well, that doesn’t count. Tim was never my son.”

“You thought he was! We both did.” Janet seethed. “Anyway, I’m glad we were mistaken. You’re so...” She shook her head, unable to finish her sentence.

Frank rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. “Calm down, sweetheart. This can’t be good for the baby...”

“Baby?” Brad looked stunned.

Janet nodded. “We just found out that we’re having another baby.”

“What a coincidence!” Molly said excitedly, and you wouldn’t think she’d been insulting Janet’s son just a minute before. “When are you due?”

“Around the end of October.” Janet answered, puzzled at Molly’s sudden interest.

“Wow! Me too!” Molly grinned. “Of course, unlike yours, my baby will be a perfectly normal human.”

“Human, yes. Perfectly normal? I doubt it.” Frank whispered to Janet. “Not with parents like that.”

Janet tried not to laugh, but a small giggle escaped.

“What was that? I didn’t hear you.” Molly asked Frank, trying not to look at him.

“Never mind.” Frank sighed, obviously bored. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have better things to do than stand around talking to two prudes like you. Come, Janet.” He and Janet linked arms and strutted out the door.


	15. Baby Love

Like Molly had said, she was Tim’s teacher for just three more months before school ended for the summer. He was glad that she was finally out of his life. When he went back to school in September, he found that it was a completely different experience. His first grade teacher was nice to him. She was always willing to help him and taking an interest in whatever he talked about. He always came home from school in a good mood.

Things were going well for Frank and Janet as well. Her pregnancy went smoothly, with no real problems. Frank was excited about becoming a father again, especially since he hadn’t experienced any of this the first time around. He loved Tim with all his heart, but he hadn’t been there for his son’s birth, and he’d also missed out on Tim’s first word, first steps and other important milestones. This time he vowed that he wouldn’t miss anything.

On the morning of October 31, Janet was putting the finishing touches on Tim’s Halloween costume. All of a sudden, she stopped what she was doing and gasped, doubling over in pain.

“Janet!” Frank ran over and put his arm around her. “What’s wrong?”

“Frank...” She grimaced and looked into his eyes. “The baby’s coming!”

Frank’s eyes widened and he started hyperventilating.

Janet, who was calmer than Frank was at this point, found a paper bag for him to breathe into. She then phoned Betty, who said she would be right over. They’d decided months before that, when the time came, Betty would stay with Tim while Frank and Janet were at the hospital.

By the time Betty arrived with Grace, Frank had calmed down enough to help Janet into the pickup truck (he’d gotten a new one to replace the one he had seven years before) and drive to the hospital. While they were there, he was extremely supportive, helping Janet through the whole thing. He did have moments, though, where he ran around yelling at anyone who’d listen. “Tonight is the night that my beautiful creature is destined to be born!” Later that night, they welcomed their daughter, Mina Fay Furter, into the world.

“Oh, Frankie, isn’t she precious?” Janet smiled at Mina, who was nestled in her arms.

Frank, who was sitting on Janet’s bed, stroked the baby’s cheek with his finger. “She sure is.”

“I hope Tim isn’t too disappointed that we didn’t go trick or treating with him, like we said we would.” Janet said.

“I’m sure he’s having a great time with Betty and Grace tonight. Besides, if he is disappointed, meeting his new little sister tomorrow will make up for it.” He grinned at Mina. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

Janet smiled, handing Mina to Frank. “I hope you’re right.” She yawned.

“Go to sleep if you want to, darling. I know it’s been a long, tiring day.” Frank kissed Janet’s forehead.

Janet nodded, leaning back on her pillow and closing her eyes.

Frank stood up, cradling Mina. She started fussing and Frank started walking his daughter around the room. “Baby love, my baby love...” He started singing, softly and slowly. “I need you, oh, how I need you...” He continued until the song was over, and he saw that Mina was fast asleep. He put her in her bassinet, careful not to wake her, and sat in a nearby chair, watching his two favourite girls sleep.


	16. Visitors

The next day was Monday, which meant Tim had to get through a whole day of school before he could meet Mina. He had trouble concentrating and was overexcited, making it difficult for his teacher, Ms. Quinn, to teach him anything. It was also a distraction for the rest of the class. Finally, she decided to speak to him about it. She asked him to stay behind at recess. “Tim, what has gotten into you? You’re not usually this agitated.”

“I want to see my sister! Daddy said I’ll meet her today after school.” Tim struck a melodramatic pose. “This day is taking too long!”

Ms. Quinn pulled up a chair close to Tim’s desk. “Your sister?”

He nodded. “Mommy had a baby yesterday. Her name’s Mina.”

“A baby girl! How exciting!” Ms. Quinn smiled. “Well, don’t you worry, the day will be over before you know it! It’ll go by much faster if you distract yourself and don’t think too much about it. Think you can do that?”

Tim nodded again.

“Good.” Ms. Quinn went back to her desk.

Tim was surprised to discover that the day actually did go by fast. When the bell rang, he raced outside to find his father waiting for him.

Frank grinned. “Are you ready?” He chuckled as Tim jumped into the pickup truck without even saying anything. “I’ll take that as a yes.” When they were both in the truck, off they went to the hospital.

Janet smiled when she saw Frank and Tim enter the room. “Hi, there!” She kissed them both and hugged Tim tightly. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Mommy.” Tim returned the hug, then looked confusedly around the room. “Where’s Mina?”

“She’s in the nursery.” Janet smiled. “Do you want to see her?”

“Yeah!” Tim nodded enthusiastically.

“Let’s go.” Frank smiled. The three of them walked down to the nursery and looked through the window.

“Which one is she?” Tim asked.

Frank picked him up and pointed at Mina. “There she is!”

Janet grinned at her little girl, but her smile disappeared as she glanced over at another baby in the nursery. The nametag on his little bed said “Derek Majors.” She nudged Frank.

Frank followed her gaze. He and Janet exchanged a look, and he knew that they were both concerned about what Tim might think. He had been a Majors until about a year before, even if it was in name only. Luckily, he was so enthralled with Mina that he didn’t notice.

A few minutes later, they returned to Janet’s room, this time with Mina. Tim wanted to hold her, so Frank placed her in Tim’s arms, reminding him to be careful. Afterwards, Frank left to take Tim home, where Betty would be waiting for him.

Janet rocked Mina and put her in the bassinet while waiting for Frank to come back. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Who is it?” She called out, sitting down on the bed.

Ms. Quinn opened the door. “Hello, Mrs. Furter.”

“Ms. Quinn! This is a surprise!” Janet smiled. “Come in.”

“I hope you don’t mind me popping in like this. Tim spent the whole day talking about his little sister, and I just thought I’d come and see her for myself.” Ms. Quinn went over to the bassinet and looked at the baby. “Oh, she’s adorable!”

“Thank you.” Janet grinned. “You just missed Tim, actually. He was here to see Mina, but my husband left to take him home before you got here.”

“Oh, well.” Ms. Quinn couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of Mina.

Janet couldn’t help wondering where she’d seen Ms. Quinn before. She and Frank had met her at the start of the school year, but now she had a feeling she’d seen her somewhere else. She wasn’t sure what to make of the way this woman was staring at her daughter. Ms. Quinn’s eyes were flashing and she had an odd smile on her face. She reminded Janet of Frank’s former domestic, Magenta. Her hair was a different colour and style, and she wasn’t wearing makeup. Or if she was, it was more natural than what Magenta would wear. She had a different voice, though. Besides, Magenta was supposed to have gone back to Transylvania. Still, the resemblance was uncanny. Janet got up and moved closer, trying to get a closer look at her.

“Vhat are you doing?” Ms. Quinn looked at Janet in alarm, her voice changing abruptly.

Janet peered at the woman. “I knew I recognized you, Magenta!”

Magenta pulled the blonde wig off her head and glared at Janet.

“You’re my son’s teacher? How...?” Janet sat back down and gaped at Magenta.

Magenta laughed. “It’s all part of the plan.”

“What plan?” Janet asked, getting scared.

“You have something I vant, and I vill get it!” Magenta opened the door and called out “Riff Raff!”

Janet’s eyes widened as she saw Riff Raff come through the door. He sneered at her, pulling something out of his pocket and jabbing her in the arm with it. Feeling drowsy all of a sudden, she flopped down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.


	17. Where's Mina?

While Frank was driving Tim home, an uneasy feeling came over him. He could sense Mina drifting farther and farther away. It was like she wasn’t even in the hospital anymore. That worried him. He glanced over at Tim to see if he could feel it too, but the boy didn’t seem to be concerned. Maybe he could sense it too, but didn’t understand what that feeling meant. Frank remembered how confusing these telepathic links had been when he was Tim’s age. As soon as he dropped Tim off, he went back to the hospital as fast as he could. When he entered Janet’s room, he found her slumped over on the bed, sleeping. He looked in the bassinet, then ran over to Janet and gently shook her, waking her up.

Janet’s eyelids fluttered as she looked at him. “Oh, I must have drifted off.” She sat up. “Frank, I had the strangest dream! I was...”

“Where’s Mina?” Frank interrupted her, frowning.

“I put her in her bassinet after you left.” Janet stood up and went over to the bassinet. “She’s not here! What...?” She turned to face Frank, confused.

Frank told her about the feeling he was experiencing.

“You mean someone took her?” Janet asked, starting to cry. “That wasn’t a dream after all.”

“What happened?” Frank asked, putting his arms around her.

“After you left, Ms. Quinn showed up. She said she wanted to see Mina, since Tim had been talking about her all day. While she was here, I started noticing how much she resembled Magenta. It really was Magenta, Frank! Riff Raff was here too, and I think they knocked me out. I don’t know what happened after that.” Janet sobbed on Frank’s shoulder.

“Ms. Quinn was Magenta all along? I don’t know why I didn’t see that.” Frank thought about it. “She must have been using a voice replicator.”

“Voice replicator? What’s that?” Janet looked at him.

“It changes your voice to someone else’s. Remember when I made you think I was Brad?” Frank grinned at Janet.

Janet smiled at the memory. “When I realized you’d tricked me, I almost didn’t give in to absolute pleasure. I’m so glad I changed my mind.”

“We would have missed out on so much, Janet.” Frank hugged her.

“I know. We wouldn’t be married now, or have two beautiful children.” Janet burst into tears again. “Oh, Mina! What if...?”

Frank, who was getting a bit teary also, looked into Janet’s eyes. “She’s fine. My link to her hasn’t been broken.”

“If the link does break, I want you to tell me right away.” Janet frowned. “Promise me.”

“Cross my heart.” Frank said, putting a hand to his heart.

“Why would Magenta and Riff Raff take our baby?” Janet sat down and put her head in her hands.

“Maybe they want a child, but they know how risky it could be to have one of their own.” Frank suggested.

“Risky?”

“Well, inbreeding can cause serious problems.”

“I know, but are you saying they’re related?” Janet was confused. “They seemed more like lovers to me.”

“Yes, they’re siblings.” Frank made a disgusted face. “Don’t worry, though. It’s not common, even for Transylvanians. I don’t think we have to worry about Tim and Mina.”

“How should we tell Tim about this? He’s so attached to his sister already.” Janet asked, worried.

“He’ll only know something’s wrong if...” Frank shook his head. “That won’t happen. He doesn’t need to know any of this right now.”

“Where do you think they took her?” Janet paced back and forth, wringing her hands.

“I think I know. Will you be all right here on your own?” Frank looked concernedly at her.

Janet nodded. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Just concentrate on bringing our baby back!”

Frank kissed her and went out the door.

When she was alone, Janet sat on her bed, picked up the phone and called Betty. After asking Betty to make sure Tim was out of earshot, she tearfully explained what had just happened. When the conversation was over and Janet hung up the phone, she lay down and cried, wishing she could see her daughter again.


	18. Old Friends

Frank drove for about half an hour before reaching his destination. As he approached the castle, he was glad he’d remembered that the location was one of the few things he, Magenta and Riff Raff all agreed on. When they first landed on Earth, they had ended up just outside of Denton, basically in the middle of nowhere. They were happy not to have nosy neighbours and other disturbances. That wasn’t the only reason for Frank to be relieved that the castle had landed in the exact same spot as before. He could tell Mina was there now. He parked the truck near the front entrance, raced up the steps and barged through the door. He looked around, but nobody was in sight. As he passed by the stairs, he could sense that Mina was on the second floor. The elevator would be faster than taking the stairs, he decided.

In the lab, Magenta pulled her brother into a tight embrace. “Oh, Riff, I’m so happy! Ve finally have the baby ve’ve vanted for so long.”

“I know, dear sister, and soon we’ll be on our way to Transylvania.” Riff Raff nuzzled her neck.

“Good thing ve hired that man to come to Earth and shadow Furter.” Magenta smirked. “I can’t believe I had to be nice to his son. The brat looks almost exactly like him. Makes me sick!” She buried her face in his chest and shuddered.

“Well, it’s over now. We got exactly what we came for.” Riff Raff stroked her hair. “I couldn’t believe it when we found out that pathetic Earthling was pregnant. It was the perfect opportunity for us.”

Magenta lifted her head from his chest and looked in his eyes. “Ve can’t go back to Transsexual. Not vhen there are other Furters there.”

“We have other planets to choose from, where the baby won’t be related to anybody. We could go to Transgender, Transparent, Transfusion or...” He paused when he heard the sound of the elevator.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Frank stepped out of the elevator, glowering at the siblings. “You can go back to Transylvania if you want, but not with my daughter.”

“She’s our daughter now, Furter.” Riff Raff crossed his arms and stared at Frank.

Frank stepped forward. “Over my dead body.”

“That can be arranged.” Magenta threw her head back and laughed maniacally.

Frank was about to respond when he heard Mina crying. Looking to see where the sound was coming from, he saw that she was in Rocky’s old tank. He went to the tank and looked inside at her. “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll get you out of here soon.” He smiled at her and walked away from the tank.

“Oh, darling, is this man scaring you?” Magenta started walking toward the tank. “Mama vill get rid of him, then we can go home.”

Frank, who had made his way over to the control panel while Magenta was talking, activated the transducer.

“My feet!” Magenta exclaimed, unable to step forward. “I can’t move my feet!”

Riff Raff was also frozen in place. “We’re glued to the spot!” He shot Frank a menacing look.

“And you will be until you let us go!” Frank smirked at both of them.

“We’re back from our walk!” Columbia came down the elevator just then, followed by Rocky. They both ran over to Frank as soon as they saw him. Columbia hugged him tightly, almost crushing his ribs. “Frankie! I missed you!”

Frank gawked at them. “I thought you were both dead!”

“No, Riff Raff’s laser didn’t work.” Columbia grinned. “Rocky and I woke up on the way to Transylvania, and I knew you were still alive too!”

Rocky stared confusedly at Frank. “Rocky saw Frank dead. Frank not dead!”

Frank gasped. “Rocky... You can talk!”

“Yeah, I’ve been teaching him.” Columbia explained. “Riff Raff and Magenta didn’t want anything to do with him, so I decided it was up to me to teach him everything he needs to know.” She grabbed Rocky’s arm and smiled at him in a motherly way.

“Well, that’s wonderful!” Frank grinned at them.

“How sentimental.” Magenta sighed. “I hate to interrupt this little reunion, but ve’re still stuck.”

“What the...” Columbia looked at Magenta and Riff Raff. “Are you stuck to the floor? Why?”

“They took my daughter.” Frank explained. “I won’t set them free until they give her back to me.”

Columbia was shocked. She gaped at Magenta and Riff Raff. “You actually did it? I told you to leave their family alone!” She turned back to Frank. “When we realized you were still alive, they hired a Transylvanian guy to come to Earth and spy on you. For the first little while, they agreed to leave you, Janet and your little boy alone. Then, when they discovered Janet was pregnant again, they decided that we had to come back to Earth. They started plotting to kidnap the baby. I begged them not to, but I guess they didn’t listen.”

Frank glared at the siblings. “Why would you do this?”

“We’ve always wanted to start a family, but until now, we weren’t sure how to do it safely. I know my Magenta will make a wonderful mother.” Riff Raff smiled at Magenta.

“I don’t believe this!” Columbia put her hands on her hips and marched up to Magenta. “How can you two be so selfish? I understand that you want a baby, I really do, but think of her family. Losing a child is one of the most devastating things that could happen to anybody.” She blinked back tears. “It’s horrible. Frank and Janet shouldn’t have to go through that.”

Frank poised his hand just above the Medusa switch on the control panel. “I know someone who can help you. Do you remember my friend Trust? We were at university together in Transylvania.”

Riff Raff and Magenta nodded.

“He’s a geneticist, and he might know how you can have a healthy inbred child. I’ll tell you how you can reach him, but only if you give me what I want.”

Magenta looked at Riff Raff, then back at Frank. “Anything, just as long as Trust can help us.”

Frank grinned widely, his hand still hovering above the switch. “I want my daughter back. I also want you to promise me that you’ll call off your spy.”

“Fine.” Riff Raff sighed.

“Wait a minute.” Columbia said. “I don’t want to go back to Transylvania. It’s nice, but Earth is my home. At the same time, I have so many memories in this castle. I don’t want to leave it.”

“You don’t have to.” Frank smiled at her. “I’m sure they’d be more than happy to leave it here for you. Rocky can stay too, if he wants to.”

Rocky grinned. “Rocky stay here.”

“Now wait a minute!” Riff Raff yelled.

Frank put his hand closer to the switch.

“Fine, they can stay.” Riff Raff sighed, and Magenta nodded in agreement. After packing up all their belongings and getting Trust’s contact information, they said their goodbyes and Frank flipped the switch that would beam them to Transylvania.

Columbia went to the tank and took Mina out. “Oh, she’s a cutie!” She squealed, cuddling Mina.

Frank smiled. “Well, it worked out for everybody! I’ll be able to take my little Mina home, and you and Rocky can stay here.” Looking around at the lab, he noticed a statue he’d never seen before. It was a woman. “Where did that come from?”

Columbia shrugged. “I don’t know. I tried asking, but they refused to tell me.”

“Let’s see.” Frank went back to the control panel and flipped a switch and watched in amazement as the woman came to life and fell to the floor, exhausted. He rushed over to her and knelt down. “Are you okay?” He asked her.

“H-how long have I been here?” She asked, then gasped when she saw that she was naked.

“Here, put this on.” Frank handed her a lab coat. “I’m Frank, by the way.”

“My name’s Rose.” She put the coat on. “I was supposed to start teaching at Denton Elementary, but these weird people brought me here. What’s today’s date?”

“It’s the first of November.” Frank said.

“I’ve been here for two months?” Rose asked, confused. She then passed out.

Frank stood up. “She should go to the hospital. Poor thing... I’ll take her.” He took Mina from Columbia. “I’m going back there anyway. Janet will be so happy to see Mina again!” He cuddled the baby.

While Rocky carried Rose out and put her in the back of the truck, Frank put Mina in her car seat. He hugged Columbia and Rocky, then got in the truck and drove off.


	19. Great Minds Think Alike

A few weeks later, the Furters were invited over to the castle. As they got out of the truck, Frank and Janet smiled at each other. This was the place where they’d met and fell in love. Tim smiled too, but not for the same reason as his parents. He was amazed at how big the castle was, and he couldn’t wait to go in and explore the rest of it.

Columbia opened the door as soon as she heard the doorbell. Beaming, she greeted the family and invited them in. “It’s so good to see you, Frankie!” She said, hugging him. She then turned to Janet. “You too, Janet! I know we don’t know each other that well, but I hope we can be friends.”

“I’d like that, Columbia.” Janet smiled.

“And you must be Tim!” Columbia knelt down to Tim’s level. “I’ve heard so much about you!”

“Hi.” Tim smiled, still a bit overwhelmed.

Just then, Rocky came down the stairs. “Frank! Janet!” He exclaimed, pulling Frank into a tight hug.

Columbia grinned at Mina, who was in Janet’s arms. “Hi, sweetie. Remember me? Come to Auntie Columbia!”

Janet handed Mina to Columbia just in time, as Rocky released Frank and scooped her up. She yelped in surprise.

“Rocky, I know you’re excited to see Janet, but could you please put her down?” Frank asked worriedly, even if he knew Rocky wasn’t dangerous.

Rocky obliged. “Sorry.” He smiled apologetically at Janet.

“That’s okay, Rocky.” Janet smoothed her rumpled clothes and smiled at him.

Columbia handed Mina back to Janet. “Would anyone like a tour of the castle?” She asked. She knew Frank missed living there, and Janet had only seen it once before.

As they walked all around the castle, Frank and Janet never let Tim out of their sight. The place was so large that it would be easy to get lost if you didn’t know your way around. They were also more protective of both of their children ever since Mina was kidnapped. After a while, they ended up in the lab. Frank looked around in wonder. “It really hasn’t changed at all!” He exclaimed. “I used to spend so many hours here...”

Janet grinned at him. “I remember how happy you looked that night.” At that moment, Mina started crying. “Oh, she must be hungry. I’ll just, uh...” She saw that Rocky was looking at her, and she was suddenly uncomfortable with the thought of unbuttoning her blouse in front of him.

Frank saw that she was hesitant. “You remember the room you stayed in when you were here, right?” He asked. “You could go in there if you need privacy.”

She nodded. “Good idea, Frank.” She got into the elevator, trying to comfort Mina.

As Frank looked at all his old lab equipment and Rocky worked out, Columbia tap danced happily around the room.

Tim looked at Columbia with admiration. “Wow, you’re good!”

“Aw, thanks!” She stopped dancing and ruffled his hair. “Want me to teach you how to tap?”

“Okay!” Tim grinned.

“I still have my old tap shoes from when I was about your age. They’re in pretty good shape. Why don’t we see if they fit you?” Columbia took his hand and they walked to the elevator.

“Thanks, Columbia.” Frank said before she and Tim got in the elevator. “That’s very generous of you.”

“No problem! It’s great that we can put those shoes to good use. If things had been different, I could have given them to...” She paused, her eyes starting to water.

“Who?” Frank looked at her with concern.

She shook her head. “Never mind.” The elevator door closed, and Columbia and Tim disappeared.

Frank shrugged and continued looking around. Then, getting a good idea, he decided to go talk to Janet. He got into the elevator.

Janet heard a knock on the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s only me, Janet.” Frank opened the door and smiled at her.

“Oh, Frank darling, come in.” She finished buttoning up her blouse.

He sat next to her on the bed and grinned at Mina, who was lying down between them. He picked his daughter up. “Janet, I’ve been thinking. Being here today has brought back so many memories.”

“You want us to move here, don’t you?” Janet asked. “I’ve been thinking about it too. Our house is nice and all, but I could do with a change.”

“There would be lots of room for the children to run around.” Frank bounced Mina on the bed.

“Yes, and with all the monitors it’ll be easy to keep an eye on them.” Janet said thoughtfully. “Oh, but what about Columbia and Rocky? Do you think they’d have a problem with us moving in?”

“I don’t think so. It’s a big enough place for all six of us. Let’s go talk to them.” Frank smiled encouragingly at her.

Columbia met them in the hallway. “Come to the ballroom, I have something to show you!” She squeaked excitedly.

As they made their way to the ballroom, Frank spoke up. “Columbia, we have a question for you.”

Columbia looked at him in surprise. “That’s funny, I wanted to ask you something too. I was talking to Rocky the other day about wonderful it was to see you again after such a long time. It reminded us of when you used to live here.” She grinned. “This castle is much too big for just two people. How would you like to move in with us?”

“We were going to ask you the same thing.” Janet smiled. “We’d love to live here!”

“Then it’s settled!” Columbia hugged both of them, then led them into the ballroom, where Tim was waiting for them. Rocky was also there, sitting next to Frank’s throne. Columbia asked Frank and Janet to take a seat. He sat on the throne, with Mina on his lap, and Janet sat beside him.

“Okay, now we can begin!” Columbia clapped her hands and stood next to Tim. “Remember what I said. Tappa-tappa-tappa.” She told him, demonstrating with her feet.

Tim imitated what she did, showing remarkable talent for someone who’d never tap danced before. They continued their routine together.

When it was over, Frank, Janet and Rocky applauded. “Sweetie, that was amazing!” Janet went over and hugged her son.

Frank grinned. “Columbia, how would you like to give Tim more tap dancing lessons? He seems to enjoy it. We’ll be living here soon, so it can be as often as you both want.”

“Sure, I’ll be glad to!” Columbia put her arm around Tim.

“We’re moving here? When?” Tim asked, grinning widely.

“Soon.” Janet smiled.

“I can’t wait!” Tim jumped up and down.

Frank held Mina in one arm and put his other arm around Janet. “We’re coming home.” He sighed happily.


	20. Columbia's Secret

By the middle of December, the Furters were all moved in. It didn’t take long for everyone to adjust to living together in the castle. Frank converted Rocky’s tank into an extra crib for Mina, in addition to the one she already had in her room. This way, if the other adults were busy, he could watch her while he worked in the lab.

One day, Frank and Rocky went to the movies with Tim. Janet was putting Mina down for her nap when Columbia walked into the room. “She really is beautiful, Janet.” She said, gazing at the baby.

“Thanks, Columbia.” Janet smiled at her friend.

Columbia picked up a rag doll that was on the shelf. “You’re so lucky, you know that? You have two wonderful children.”

Janet grinned. “I’m sure you’ll make a great mother someday.” She looked at Columbia. “In fact, I know you will! You’re such a natural with Tim and Mina.”

Columbia’s eyes filled with tears. She clapped a hand over her mouth and ran out of the room.

“Columbia?” Janet ran after her. “Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

Columbia ran into her room and flopped down on the bed, crying into her pillow.

Janet walked in and sat down on the bed. “What is it?” She asked concernedly.

Columbia turned to face Janet. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing you did.” She gave her a small smile. “Actually, I think you have a right to know. Frank does too.”

“Well, he should be back soon. Want to wait and talk to both of us when he gets back?”

“Sure.” Columbia nodded.

Janet gave her a hug and left the room. When Frank came home, she explained what had happened, and told him that Columbia wanted to talk to both of them. They went to her room, and Janet knocked on the door. “Columbia, Frank’s back. We’ll talk when you’re ready, okay?”

Columbia opened the door and looked at her friends. “Come on in.” She let them into the room. She sat on her bed, with Frank and Janet on either side of her.

“What’s the matter, Columbia?” Frank asked, taking her hand.

“I need to tell you something. I’ve been hiding this for years, but now I think you should know.” She took a deep breath and looked at Frank. “Do you remember how I was away for a while in 1975?”

“Yes, I remember.” Frank nodded. “You were staying with your sister, who was ill.”

“That’s what I told you, but I wasn’t being entirely truthful. It’s true that I was staying with my sister, but not for the reason I told you. I’ll start at the beginning.” She sighed. “It all started when Eddie began selling drugs to Riff Raff. One day, I was the one who answered the door. When Eddie and I looked at each other it was love at first sight! We hit it off immediately, and it wasn’t long before we ended up sleeping together. When I became pregnant, we both knew it wasn’t the right time to start a family.”

Frank gaped at her. “You were pregnant? I never knew that.”

“That’s because I never told you. Eddie and I decided that, because we weren’t ready both financially and emotionally, we’d put the baby up for adoption. It was a tough decision for both of us, but we knew it was for the best.” Columbia burst into tears.

“Oh, Columbia, why didn’t you say anything before?” Frank put his arm around her.

“I wasn’t sure how you’d react. Anyway, you were so preoccupied with figuring out how to create life. I didn’t want to bother you with my problems.” Columbia giggled a bit. “Ironic, isn’t it? You wanted to know how to create a person, and that’s exactly what I was doing.” She stopped giggling, turning serious again. “My sister said I could stay with her, so I made up that story about her being sick and moved in with her. After my daughter was born, I came back here. I know her adoptive parents can give her everything I couldn’t, and that giving her up was the right thing to do. I just wonder sometimes...” She cried on Frank’s shoulder.

“What about Eddie? How was he through all of this?” Janet asked, rubbing Columbia’s back.

“He was so supportive. He visited me often, and we also wrote to each other and talked on the phone all the time.” Columbia smiled sadly. “He was there the day she was born. September 26, 1975. Neither of us could bear to hold her, because we knew we’d never be able to let go.”

“I’m so sorry, Columbia.” Frank said. “I can’t even imagine...”

Janet squeezed Columbia’s hand. “Thank you for sharing this with us.”

“Thank you both for listening.” Columbia smiled, tears running down her face. “I just thought you deserved to know everything.”

Frank and Janet smiled at her as they stood up to leave the room. Columbia stood up also, and pulled both of them into a group hug. She was emotionally drained, and missed her daughter and Eddie terribly, but she felt so fortunate to have such wonderful friends in her life.


	21. Rude Awakening

On the first day of school after Christmas, Frank and Tim got in the truck and headed over to the school. Tim was excited to finally meet his teacher, since he’d had a substitute teacher ever since “Ms. Quinn” had left at the start of November. “Daddy?” He asked, looking at Frank. “Why is Ms. Thorne just starting now? Where was she before?”

“She wasn’t feeling well. It happened so suddenly that Ms. Quinn was hired before it was discovered that she wasn’t right for the job.” Frank glanced at his son.

“Oh.” Tim seemed to be satisfied with that answer, and their conversation turned to other topics.

Frank pulled into the school’s parking lot. Tim saw some of his friends playing in the snow, so he went to join them. Frank was about to leave when he saw Rose. He got out of the truck and walked over to her.

“Dr. Furter!” Rose grinned when she saw him.

“Hello, Ms. Thorne.” Frank smiled. “How are you?”

“Call me Rose. I’m fine, thanks. Much better than the last time you saw me.” She looked shyly at the ground. “What about you, Dr. Furter? How have you been?”

“Fine. And since you want me to call you by your first name, you can do the same with me.”

“Okay, Frank.” Rose blushed slightly. “Thank you so much for saving my life! And for getting my job back.”

“Well, I just did what anyone would do. And I didn’t want you to be punished for something that wasn’t your fault, so I contacted the school board and convinced them to let you keep your job.” Frank smiled warmly at her.

“Well, I appreciate it. I really do.” She moved toward him like she wanted to hug him, but stopped and blushed again. “How can I ever repay you for all you’ve done for me?” She thought for a minute. “Would you like to have dinner sometime. It’ll be my treat.”

Frank grinned. “That’s a great idea! I’m sure my wife would like that.”

“Your wife...” Rose’s smile disappeared for about a second, but she perked back up immediately. “Of course! I’d love to meet her.” She looked at her watch. “Oh, I should go inside before the bell rings. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye!” She turned and scurried to the door.

“Bye, Rose.” Frank waved to her, but she was already inside the school. He got back in the truck and went home.

The weeks passed. One day, the phone rang and Frank answered. Rose was on the other end. After taking to her for a few minutes, he hung up the phone and went into the kitchen, where Janet was sitting at the table, helping Tim with his homework. “Tim, Ms. Thorne just called. She said you forgot your math book at school, and she’s coming to return it.” Frank crossed his arms. “Honestly, you have to learn to take responsibility for your belongings. You can’t...”

“Frank?” Janet interrupted him. “Is this the book you’re talking about?” She held up Tim’s math book, which had been on the table the whole time.”

“Oh!” Frank stared at the book, dumbfounded. “Maybe she saw someone else’s book and thought it was yours. Sorry, Tim. Carry on!” He left the kitchen and went back to the phone, hoping to catch Rose before she left the school. He didn’t get an answer, and felt guilty about her coming all the way to the castle for nothing. He answered the door when she arrived. “Rose, I’m terribly sorry, but there was a misunderstanding. Tim has his math book.”

“Math book?” Rose was confused.

“Yes, you said you wanted to return Tim’s math book. The book you found isn’t his.” Frank looked at her quizzically.

“Oh, right.” She smiled sheepishly. “Fine, you caught me! There was no math book.”

“Why did you come here, then?” Frank raised an eyebrow.

“To see you, silly!” She grinned and threw her arms around him. “You love me and I love you, so why fight it?”

“What?” He tried to free himself from her clutches. “I don’t love you!”

Rose released Frank and gaped at him. “Of course you do! Don’t deny it!”

“Look, Rose...” Frank sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I think you’d better leave.”

“Fine. Play hard to get.” She opened the door. “You’ll be mine, just wait and see!” She walked out and closed the door behind her.

Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Frank and Janet were woken up by the sound of Mina crying through the baby monitor. Janet got out of bed. “I’ll go. Go back to sleep, Frankie.” She kissed him and left the room.

Frank rolled over on his side and went back to sleep. After what seemed like just a minute, he woke up when he felt arms wrapping themselves around him. He smiled as kisses tickled the back of his neck. “That was fast.” He turned around to look at Janet, but his eyes popped open when he realized that the person he saw wasn’t Janet. “Oh, it’s you!” He recoiled in horror.

“I’m afraid so, Frank.” Rose grinned mischievously at him. “But isn’t it nice?”

He frowned at her. “You tricked me... I wouldn’t have... I’d never... never...”

Rose smiled and moved closer, looking deeply into his eyes. “Yes, I know, but it isn’t all bad, is it?” She leaned in to kiss him.

Frank turned his face away before she could kiss him. “Stop!” He yelled.

“Shhh, Janet might hear you. Do you want her to see you like this?” Rose threw herself on top of him, trapping him.

“Like this? Like how?” Frank struggled to get free.

Janet came back in the room at that moment. She was shocked to find Frank and Rose in bed together. “Oh, Frank! I don’t believe this!” She ran from the room, sobbing.

“Janet!” Frank sat up so fast that Rose almost fell out of the bed.

“Don’t worry, Frankie.” Rose smiled as she inched closer to him. “Now that she’s out of the way, we’re completely free to be together!”

Frank glowered at her.


	22. Late Night Conversations

Janet closed her bedroom door and walked down the hall, tears streaming down her face. She kept walking, not really paying attention to where she was going, and ended up in the kitchen. She sat at the table and stared into space.

Columbia entered the kitchen, surprised to see Janet. She hadn’t thought anyone else would be awake. When she noticed that Janet was crying, she raced over and sat beside her. “Janet? Are you okay?”

Janet turned to look at Columbia, and shook her head. “I was a fool to think he’d changed.”

“What are you talking about?” Columbia asked.

“F-Frank’s in bed with that woman as we speak!” Janet wept. “I thought that part of his life was over.”

“What woman?” Columbia’s eyes widened with shock.

“Rose Thorne.” Janet spat out. “He’s cheating on me with our son’s teacher! Can you believe that?”

“No, I can’t.” Columbia leaned back in her chair. “You know how much of a playboy he used to be. He’s different, now, Janet. You’re the only one he wants to be with.”

“Well, he certainly did a good job of showing that just now.” Janet scoffed.

“I mean it!” Columbia smiled. “I see the way his eyes light up whenever he looks at you. Even when he’s just talking about you, or thinking of you. He’s head over heels in love with you, no doubt about it!”

“Really?” Janet’s expression softened, until she thought back to what she saw. “But how do you explain Rose?”

“Didn’t he tell us that she wanted to return a book that Tim already had? I think she was just making an excuse to see Frank. She’s interested in him, but I doubt it’s mutual.” Columbia walked over to the monitor and switched it on. “Let’s see what’s going on.”

Janet covered her eyes. “Columbia, why are you making me watch? I thought you were my friend.” She moaned.

“Look!” Columbia pointed to the monitor, where she saw Frank sitting on the side of the bed looking upset, swatting Rose away every time she tried to touch him.

Janet removed her hands from her eyes and looked at the monitor. “I think you’re right.” She said. “Turn the sound up.”

Frank stood up. “Oh, Janet...” He sighed.

“Come back to bed, Frankie.” Rose smiled. “I’ll make you forget all about her.”

He frowned at her. “Janet means more to me than anyone else, and I’ve probably lost her forever thanks to you.” His eyes filled with tears. “I love her! Can’t you understand that? I can’t imagine my life without her, or our children. Oh my god, the children... I’ll lose them too.” He sat back down.

Rose sat beside him and put her head on his shoulder. “That’s okay, I’ll give you other children.”

Frank was appalled. “You can’t just replace people, Rose.”

Janet grinned as she watched Frank argue with Rose about why they couldn’t be together. More specifically, Frank argued and Rose just sat there smiling at him, not seeming to understand or care that he was upset. “Oh, Frankie...” Janet sighed.

“See? Told you there was nothing to worry about!” Columbia exclaimed.

Janet got up and walked over to the monitor. “Frankie, I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“Why don’t you tell him that?” Columbia suggested.

“I will.” Janet smiled at Columbia as they left the kitchen. “Why are you up this late, by the way?”

“Oh, I couldn’t sleep.” Columbia shrugged.

“Something wrong?”

“Not wrong, exactly.” Columbia smiled a bit sadly. “I found out earlier that Magenta’s pregnant. I’m so excited for her and Riff Raff, but...”

“You wish it could have been that way for you and Eddie, is that right?” Janet looked at her friend with sympathy.

Columbia nodded and they kept walking.

“I have to go find Janet.” Frank got up and walked to the door. He turned around to face Rose. “You’d better be gone when we come back.”

“Fine.” Rose stood up and gathered her clothes, which were in a pile on the floor. “I just hope you realize what you’re missing.”

“I’m not missing anything.” Frank opened the door and stepped into the hallway. He started walking, hoping that Janet would accept his apology. She’d looked so crushed when she saw him with Rose. If she broke up with him, he’d never forgive himself as long as he lived. He stopped when he spotted Janet talking to Columbia. “Janet!” He called out.

Janet looked at him when she heard her name. She walked toward him, with Columbia trailing close behind.

“Janet.” Frank looked at her, his eyes red and puffy from crying. “I’m so sorry. If you want me to leave, I...”

“No, Frank.” She put her hand up to his mouth before he could finish his sentence. “I’m the one who should apologize. Yes, it hurt me to see you together, but I jumped to conclusions. I understand now that she forced herself on you.” She put her hand back down and smiled. “Those things you said were really sweet. You’ll never lose me or the children, I promise.”

“I hope not.” He grinned and put his arms around her. “Wait a minute...” He eyed her suspiciously. “How do you know what I said?”

Janet bit her lip and glanced guiltily at Columbia. “We watched you through the monitor. Sorry, Frankie...”

Frank chuckled. “Don’t worry about it.” He kissed her. “It’s late. Why don’t we go to bed?”

Columbia grinned as she watched the couple walk away, happy to see that they were still in love. “Goodnight, Frank and Janet.” She turned to go to her own room, but stopped and looked at her friends. “I won’t mind taking Tim to school in the morning, if you want to, you know, stay in bed!” She winked and went to her room.

Frank and Janet looked at each other and grinned. With their arms around each other, they walked back to their room.


	23. Birthday Party

Less than a year later, it was Mina’s first birthday. The party was held at Ding-a-Ling’s Pizza, which was where Tim’s first birthday had also been celebrated six years earlier. For Mina’s party, the guests were Columbia, Rocky, the Hapschatts, Janet’s parents and Dr. Scott. Janet was surprised to discover that Betty had managed to talk Ralph into going to the party, but Betty explained that she and Ralph had decided to compromise. He would go to this party if she agreed to go with him to Derek Majors’ birthday party, which was later the same day.

As soon as everyone had arrived and was seated, they were greeted by Ding-a-Ling the clown. He had rainbow-coloured hair and had bells on various parts of his costume. He bounded over to Mina’s high chair and grinned at her. “This must be the birthday girl!” He exclaimed loudly.

Startled, Mina let out a small whimper and looked away from the clown.

Frank, who was sitting beside Mina, kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Clowns aren’t scary.”

Janet smiled. “That’s right.”

To prove their point, Ding-a-Ling danced for Mina, all his bells ringing with every move.

Mina laughed and clapped her hands.

“See?” Frank grinned. “It wasn’t the makeup that scared you, was it? You’ve never been afraid of Daddy’s makeup, after all.” He hugged Mina. “Of course, Daddy looks much better than this clown.” He muttered under his breath.

Ding-a-Ling stopped dancing, having heard what Frank said. He narrowed his eyes at Frank, then continued dancing. Later, a cake was brought out, with one big candle on it. Everybody sang “Happy Birthday” to Mina, and of course Frank was wearing a party hat.

When the party was winding down, Janet went to sit with Betty and Columbia. She noticed that Columbia seemed distracted. “Columbia? Are you okay?”

Columbia jumped when she heard Janet’s voice, as if she hadn’t known Janet was sitting there. “Oh! Sorry, Janet, I was just...” She turned her eyes back to where she’d been staring.

Janet followed Columbia’s gaze and saw that she’d been looking at Rocky. “I knew it!” She exclaimed.

Columbia looked at Janet. “What?”

“You’re in love with Rocky, aren’t you? I had a sneaking suspicion.” Janet grinned.

Columbia blushed. “You’re right. I love Rocky.” She smiled slightly. “He reminds me more and more of Eddie, but that’s not the only reason. He’s so sweet, and we’ve been spending so much time together.” She sighed and gazed dreamily at Rocky, who was wearing jeans and a Harley Davidson T-shirt.

Janet smiled. “It’s understandable that he’d have some of Eddie’s personality. After all, he does have half of Eddie’s brain.”

“How does he feel about you?” Betty asked.

“I don’t know. He doesn’t know that I feel this way, and I guess I’m just afraid of rejection.” Columbia frowned.

“Tell him!” Janet and Betty cried out in unison.

“You think I should?” Columbia asked.

“Yes! I’ve seen you together, and I think he feels the same way.” Janet smiled encouragingly at her.

“Okay, I’ll go talk to him!” Columbia grinned at her friends and got up from the table.

At the exact moment the three women were talking, Rocky walked over to Frank, who was holding Mina. “Rocky has question.”

“What is it, Rocky?” Frank put Mina on the floor so she could crawl around.

“Why Rocky feels funny?”

Frank looked at him with concern. “Are you sick?” He asked.

Rocky nodded. “When Rocky sees Columbia.” He glanced over at Columbia, but blushed and turned back to Frank before she could see him.

“Oh, Rocky.” Frank smiled knowingly. “You’re fine. What you’re feeling is love!”

“Love?” Rocky asked.

“Yes, you’re in love with Columbia.” Frank explained.

“Love...” Rocky thought about it, then smiled. “Like Frank and Janet!”

“Yes, Janet and I are in love, and you feel that way about Columbia.” Frank grinned.

“Columbia.” Rocky stared at her.

“You should tell her.” Frank said.

Rocky nodded and walked in Columbia’s direction. Their friends couldn’t make out what was said, but it must have been good. Rocky and Columbia talked for a few minutes, then smiled at each other and kissed.

Frank picked Mina back up and went to sit with Janet and Betty. “Looks like that went well!” He grinned at them.

“I know.” Janet sighed happily. “Oh, Frankie, isn’t it wonderful? They look so cute together!”

Betty smiled, then looked at her watch. “Oh, look at the time! I’m really sorry, but we have to go. The Majors’ party starts in half an hour.” She stood up and walked over to the play area, where Grace was playing with Tim. “Gracie, it’s time to go.”

“But we were having fun! Can’t I stay longer?” Grace pleaded.

“No problem, sweetie.” Ralph appeared beside Betty. “They’re not here yet, so you can play until then.”

Betty gaped at her husband. “You mean the party’s here? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Sorry.” Ralph reddened and looked at his feet.

Hearing the Hapschatts argue, Janet raced over to them. “What’s going on?”

Before anyone could answer, the door opened and in walked Brad, Molly and little Derek. Janet sighed, understanding what the problem was. She went back to where Frank was sitting. “Honey, remember when I suggested that we throw Mina’s party here? I said that Tim’s first birthday party was here, and I was so impressed with it that I wanted the same for Mina.” She glanced over at the door, where Brad was vigorously shaking Ding-a-Ling’s hand. “I’m not the only one who had that idea. I’m sorry.” She sat down and put her head in her hands.

“Don’t worry about it.” Frank smiled at her. “The important thing is that we all had a good time, especially Mina.”

“You’re right, Frank.” Janet took Mina from him and cuddled her. “Well, Ralph, Betty and Grace are staying, and I think Dr. Scott is as well. My parents left earlier. That just leaves you, me, the kids and the lovebirds.” She grinned, happy for Columbia and Rocky. “How about we go home?”

“Sure.” Frank grinned back.

They managed to leave with the Majors’ seeing them. Frank and Janet were also concerned about Tim seeing them, but that wasn’t a problem. Tim was too busy grilling Columbia and Rocky about their relationship, since he had seen them kissing. They all knew that, even if life didn’t always work the way they wanted it to, what really mattered was the fact that they had family and friends they could always count on.


	24. Happily Ever After

The next four years were very eventful for everybody. Frank and Janet were extremely proud of both of their children. Eleven-year-old Tim was doing well in school, especially since his parents had decided to transfer him to a different school after the Rose fiasco. His new school was closer to the castle, and all of the teachers there seemed to be tolerant and sane. Frank was also certain that none of them were Transylvanians in disguise. Five-year-old Mina, who was attending the same school as her brother, was turning out to be a bright, good-natured little girl.

Things were going well for Rocky and Columbia too. Their relationship blossomed, and about a year after they’d professed their love for each other, they got married. They were now expecting their first child.

One night, after both Mina and Tim had gone to bed, Frank and Janet sat down to watch a movie. About halfway through, Rocky walked in and joined them. “What watching?”

“We’re watching Clue.” Frank smiled at him. “It’s based on the board game.”

“You know, the game where you have to figure out who the murderer is.” Janet explained.

“I think the butler did it. There’s just something suspicious about him.” Frank said.

Columbia waddled into the room just then. “Oh, are you watching Clue? Mind if I join you?” She sat down beside Rocky.

“Not at all.” Frank grinned at her.

Rocky put one arm around Columbia, and rested his other hand on her belly. “How’s baby?” He asked.

“Very active. I think he’s doing the Time Warp in there!” She smiled and kissed Rocky.

Janet beamed at the couple. “Well, it won’t be long now. You must be excited!”

“Yeah, we have his room all ready, with everything we need. Now all we have to do is play the waiting game!” Columbia grinned.

“I know what that’s like. I couldn’t wait to finally be able to see my children and hold them in my arms.” Janet smiled at the memory and turned to her husband. “Remember, Frank?”

Frank nodded, a big grin spreading across his face. “Before Mina was born, I spent so much time imagining what she’d look like, what kind of person she’d be.” He pulled Janet into an embrace. “I remember the waiting, the wondering, the antici...” He paused to look at the monitor, noticing that the movie had stopped and the picture on the screen was changing.

“Daddy?” Mina’s face appeared on the screen.

“What’s Mina doing up? She went to bed hours ago.” Janet asked.

“I’ll go see what she wants.” Frank got up and went to Mina’s room. When he got there, he found her sitting on the side of her bed. “What is it, sweetheart?” He sat beside her.

“I can’t sleep.” Mina looked at him. “Can you tell me a story?”

“Which one would you like to hear?” Frank asked, even though he knew which story she’d probably ask for.

Mina’s eyes lit up. “The prince in the castle!”

“Are you sure? You’ve heard that one so many times!” Frank smiled. He enjoyed telling that story, so he didn’t really mind.

Mina nodded. “Please, Daddy?”

“Okay, but you have to promise me that you’ll go right to sleep after.” Frank tucked Mina in.

“Promise!”

“Good.” Frank grinned and began telling the story. “Once upon a time, there was a prince named Frank. He lived in a big castle, and had everything he could ever ask for. He always had friends to play with. Something was missing from his life, however, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He wasn’t completely happy. Not even discovering the secret to life itself could help him. Yes, it meant that he could create a new friend to play with, but there was still something missing.”

“Oh, no!” Mina frowned.

“Frank decided to throw a party to celebrate his new playmate. All of his friends were there, and they danced and sang all night. In addition to everyone he knew, there was another guest at the party. She hadn’t been invited. She was there because her car broke down near the castle, and she was hoping Frank would be kind enough to let her use his phone to call for help. Her name was Janet, and she was the most beautiful woman that Frank had ever seen. He invited her to stay for the night, or maybe a bite. They fell in love that night, and Frank finally realized that Janet was the answer to his problem. You see, what he’d been longing for was someone to love. He knew Janet was that someone.”

“Wow...” Mina whispered, awestruck even though she knew this story by heart.

“Frank and Janet got married later, and had two beautiful children.”

“Named Tim and Mina!” Mina exclaimed.

“That’s right.” Frank grinned.

She yawned, her eyelids starting to feel heavy. “And Mina was their favourite.”

“They loved both children equally.” Frank chuckled. “Frank, Janet, Tim and Mina lived in the castle with their friends, Rocky and Columbia. They were all one big, happy family and the castle was filled with love and laughter. They all...” Frank stopped, glanced at Mina and saw that she’d fallen asleep. He kissed her on the forehead, stood up and walked to the door. He turned off the light. “They all lived happily ever after.”


End file.
